It is generally accepted that a circumferential microtubule supports the discoid shape of resting platelets. The fate of the many-coiled polymer following platelet activation, however, has been a subject of considerable debate. Morphological investigations have suggested that the circumferential coils are constricted into tight rings around centrally concentrated organelles during platelet shap...

Sixty pullets, aged 17 weeks, were presented when presumed to be 'dead' after being exposed to wet-cold weather transportation. The birds appeared unconscious and their feathers were soaking wet, and with a body rigid and cold to touch. The aim of the study was to resuscitate the hypothermic pullets. Blood samples were obtained and core body temperature recorded before and after rewarming. The ...

PURPOSE Patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) and continuous insulin may be at increased risk of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, particularly during temperature transitions. This study aimed to evaluate frequency of glucose excursions during each phase of TH and to characterize glycemic control patterns in relation to survival. METHODS Patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital...

BACKGROUND Deep accidental hypothermia (core temperature <28 degrees C) is an uncommon medical emergency requiring rapid active core rewarming. Extracorporeal circulation has become the treatment of choice for deep hypothermic patients with cardiac arrest. CASE REPORT We report on a 30-year-old patient who suffered from deep accidental hypothermia (core temperature 24.8 degrees C) and cardiac...

The optimal treatment for severe accidental hypothermia is cardiopulmonary bypass because this offers the most rapid rate of rewarming. However, cardiopulmonary bypass therapy is not available in every hospital. In these circumstances, rewarming has to be achieved with other methods. We present a patient who was successfully rewarmed with thoracic lavage after he had been found with a core temp...

INTRODUCTION We developed a minimally invasive, closed chest pig model with the main aim to describe hemodynamic function during surface cooling, steady state severe hypothermia (one hour at 25°C) and surface rewarming. METHODS Twelve anesthetized juvenile pigs were acutely catheterized for measurement of left ventricular (LV) pressure-volume loops (conductance catheter), cardiac output (Swan...

Resistive heating is an alternative to forced-air warming which is currently the most commonly used intra-operative warming system. We therefore tested the hypothesis that rewarming rates are similar with Hot Dog(®) (Augustine Biomedical) resistive and Bair Hugger(®) (Arizant) forced-air heating systems. We evaluated 28 patients having major maxillary tumour surgery. During the establishment of...

Severe accidental hypothermia in an urban environment is usually associated with drug or alcohol abuse or serious illness in elderly or debilitated patients. In the presence of cardiovascular instability, extracorporeal rewarming by cardiopulmonary bypass is the gold standard of treatment of such patients. Three cases of profound hypothermia with circulatory collapse are presented. Each was suc...

Introduction: Jugular bulb oxyhaemoglobin desaturation (SjO2 ≤ 50%) during the rewarming phase of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with postoperative cognitive deficits [1]. Isoflurane effects cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolic rate, both of which affect SjO2 [2]. We report the effect of isoflurane on the incidence of desaturation during rewarming from CPB for coronary artery ...

Accidental hypothermia is defined as an unintentional drop in core body temperature below 35°C. It can present in any climate and in any season, as it is not always a result of environmental exposure; underlying illnesses or coexisting pathology can play important roles. Although there is some variability in clinical presentation, hypothermia produces a predictable pattern of physiologic respon...